Jackson Free Press

The 2007 Jackson Fire Department recruit class has hit another obstacle. Almost half the graduating class, 10 out of 23, failed a field delivery test administered by the state fire academy. Recruits who failed the field delivery test may now opt for the state-certified minimum standards test.

Fire Chief Vernon Hughes asked the Mississippi State Minimum Standards Board to administer the minimum standards test for the 10 failed applicants last Wednesday, hoping the board would spare the applicants from starting a six-month training process anew.

JFD Chief of Training Ronerick Simpson said the recruits' failure rate was partially because of a new, unfamiliar curriculum the Jackson Fire Academy was teaching this year.

"After all the changes … this year we felt it would be to our advantage to ensure that our individuals would get the most recent training we could give them, so we entered with the field program of the state fire academy, which is the first time we've ever done that. … Ten of our recruits did not make it through that system, so now we're asking that those 10 individuals be afforded an opportunity to try again," Simpson told the board.

The board granted Hughes' request for a new test after hearing of the module's failure rate.

"All we need is a list of the recruits needing the test and a date from the city that you would like to take the test," said board Chairman Reggie Bell.

Local firefighter's union president Capt. Brandon Falcon said he was grateful the panel had been generous.

"If the fire academy hadn't given them leeway, they would've had to re-take the entire cycle ... That's about another six months. They're supposed to graduate and be on fire trucks next Saturday."

The Jackson City Council voted 4-0 in a July 24 special meeting to approve a contract between the Jackson Fire Academy and Mississippi State Fire Academy, to secure materials and modules to improve testing scores of the city academy.

Hughes said at the time that the contract would "help us to produce these firefighters in a more efficient and better way … as well as get (them) equipped and trained and … out onto the truck."

This is the second snafu the 2007 recruit class has suffered. In May, the Mississippi State Minimum Standards Board invalidated the recruits' Candidate Physical Ability Test because the city had broken a standard rule while administering the test.

A Mississippi State Fire Academy representative or an academy-approved monitor must be on hand to observe the administration of the CPAT, but the city failed to provide one.

Hughes, who was not chief at the time, argued that the fire department had administered the test despite the absence of a state fire academy representative because of "considerable pressure by the administration," due to "the shortage of manpower."

Hughes had the test videotaped, but the video did not satisfy the board.

The class of 23 is a drop down from the original 60 recruits after background checks and physical endurance tests. If the number falls to 13, the resulting graduates will do little to ameliorate the city's shortage of manpower in the fire department.

The department currently has about 345 firefighters, but needs at least 50 more to meet federal standards and keep residents' home insurance rates low. Falcon warned that many firefighters have filed notices for retirement this year.

The shortage is also impacting the city budget. The fire and police departments gobbled up almost $4 million in overtime in 2006 as the departments worked to fill schedule holes. The 2007 budget reveals overtime costs of almost $3 million by both departments.

The city held a graduation ceremony last week for the 13 graduates who passed the field delivery module plus five lateral transfers from other fire departments. Simpson said the 10 recruits in question will be assigned to fire stations as soon as they pass the minimum standards test.

Previous Comments

ID

68229

Comment

The department currently has about 345 firefighters, but needs at least 50 more to meet federal standards and keep residents’ home insurance rates low. Falcon warned that many firefighters have filed notices for retirement this year. I wonder exactly how many are retiring.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-12-28T08:30:39-06:00

ID

68230

Comment

*******JFD Chief of Training Ronerick Simpson said the recruits’ failure rate was partially because of a new, unfamiliar curriculum the Jackson Fire Academy was teaching this year***** That is Hog Wash the curriculum has not changed. The problem is that there is a very in experienced staff at the training center. These are the same individuals incharge of the training center that was suppose to train the last class which never even picked up a fire hose during training. They were harrassed RACIALLY, MENTALLY as well as PHYSICALLY. The JFD training center is in poor shape with poor leadership. No classed in the past have had such failure rates. Check the records. The training is only suppose to last 16 weeks and if the State Fire Academy were teaching it would only be 14 weeks.

Author

Bango

Date

2008-01-03T16:23:08-06:00

ID

68231

Comment

The fire dept. probaly negligently used the "How Ta Bee a Guud Firemen" tape by Todd Chandler to train them. How could you follow that scenario and not fail the test? They should study hard and retest then move on. We need more firemen for sure.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2008-01-03T16:36:29-06:00

ID

68232

Comment

Todd "the would be fire chief" was demoted today for releasing his memoirs before his retirement. He was demoted to captain today and has reportedly issued a statement saying his next movie release will be entitled, "It's Hard Out Here for an Unreconstructed Redneck."

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2008-01-04T13:25:31-06:00

ID

68233

Comment

Three Six Maffia is complaining about the title to Todd Chandler's latest release and demanding money. Consequently, Todd says the release will now be called, "How to Mess Around and Get Your Ass Demoted."

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2008-01-04T13:50:55-06:00